Spurs spurn chance to move up to fourth as Zouma earns West Ham derby draw

West Ham United's Kurt Zouma celebrates scoring. Photo credit: John Walton/PA Wire.

West Ham 1 Tottenham 1

Tottenham and West Ham may have big European ambitions but a tepid draw in an ultimately frustrating London derby has left neither side any nearer to achieving them.

Goals from Brennan Johnson and Kurt Zouma, both in the first half, saw the rivals draw 1-1 in a match that rather petered out and left both teams feeling they had just wasted a big opportunity.

Spurs are still sitting fifth in the table at the end of it all, albeit slightly closer to fourth-placed Aston Villa, but this was their game in hand – and it required something more if they wanted to make a statement about their Champions League potential.

West Ham, meanwhile, remain seventh, three points behind Manchester United, but no nearer to achieving their dream of reaching the Europa League for the second season in a row – or to breaking a poor run of more than a month without a win in the Premier League.

Even so, the result may irk Tottenham fans the most, especially when you consider it is West Ham currently enjoying the thrill of European football, with a huge Europa League tie against Bayer Leverkusen on the horizon.

Spurs remain 12 points ahead of their London rivals, but there was no sense of celebration in the away end when the final whistle blew.

Spurs last played in the Champions League in 2022-23, when they reached the last 16 before losing to AC Milan and have enjoyed seven campaigns in all in their history; with ambitions strengthened by the clever management of Posicoglou this season, who took over a side which finished eighth last season to miss out on Europe altogether.

Their recent form has been somewhat patchy (including a surprise 3-0 defeat against Fulham) but hat you can say, however, is that Tottenham are becoming gradually more pragmatic in their approach to reaching the top four Long gone are the days when they pour forward relentlessly with no regard for what happens at the other end of the pitch. So, perhaps that is progress.

The early stages confirmed the theory, with Brennan Johnson putting Spurs ahead after only five minutes, neatly converting a low cross from the revitalised Timo Werner following a swift break-away move.

It could have been 2-0 minutes later when Pedro Porro fired narrowly wide, and again when Son Heung-Min shot straight at Lukasz Fabianski.

But West Ham were level after 20 minutes, with a simple corner routine which saw Jarrod Bowen chip a ball to the back post where an un-marked Kurt Zouma rose above everyone to awkwardly, but effectively, head home.

That made it 44 goals conceded for Tottenham this season and 55 for West Ham, which tells its own story, one which may well see both teams fail to meet their ultimate targets this season.

West Ham had, perhaps, the better of the first half, but there was never a moment when either team dominated for long enough to suggest they were taking the match, or the opportunity, by the scruff of the neck.

The attacking talent on show as certainly better than what sat behind them, with Bowen, Lucas Pacqueta and Mohammed Kudus always dangerous for the home side, who forced Vicario into a fine save from Michail Antonio and almost scrambled the ball home from another corner shortly after the break.

Antonio should have won it on the hour mark when he burst through on goal, beat the last man but somehow shot straight at Vicario from 10m out; a that typified a dropping in quality as the match wore on.

Tottenham’s threat comes from the less physical but equally rapid pace of Werner, Johnson and Son, and the prompting of James Maddison, who was not at his best on this occasion and was eventually subbed.

Postecoglou at least did his best to try and win it, sending on all his substitutes – and by contrast Moyes failed to use any. But even so it was West Ham who looked the more ambitious in the final moments.

One point each in the Premier League, but points dropped in the race for Europe; and only time will tell what that really means for next season.

West Ham: Fabianski 7; Coufal 7, Mavropanos 6, Zouma 7, Emerson 6; Ward-Prowse 7, Soucek 6; Bowen 7, Paqueta 7, Kudus 6; Antonio 7.

Unused subs: Anang, Johnson, Cresswell, Phillips, Cornet, Ings, Ogbonna, Earthy, Mubama.

Tottenham: Vicario 7; Porro 7, Romero 6, Van de Ven 6, Udogie 6; Bentancur 6 (Sarr 70; 6), Bissouma 6 (Hojbjerg, 82),Johnson 6 (Lo Celso 90), Maddison 6 (Kulusevski 70; 6), Werner 7 (Richarlison 82); Son 6.

Unused subs: Austin, Dragusin, Royal, Lo Davies.

Referee: John Brooks.